Dancing Light
by Cynical and Sarcastic
Summary: Merlin hovered nervously in Arthur's doorway. It was time to tell him. But perhaps...not alone. The rest of the Round Table should hear as well. Reveal fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Yeah, only my second fic, how interesting. It's a little bit crap, but hey, figured it's got correct grammar and spelling (hopefully) so it's definitely an improvement on many Merlin fics here! There'll be two chapters, almost finished the second, and please yell at me if I take too long in posting it. Enough babbling.**

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><p>Merlin was standing in the doorway of Arthur's chambers, fidgeting nervously. The king hadn't noticed him yet; his back to the door, looking over reports on the outlying lands. Merlin stood there silently, courage dwindling every second he looked on his friend's back. <em>He's too stressed, there's too much going on, I can't burden him with this now, it's too soon after the coronation,<em> Merlin thought desperately. Truth was, he'd been telling himself this for the past two months. They had been true in the beginning, but their strength had been dwindling. There were no more excuses.

Merlin cleared his throat softly. Arthur turned, eyebrow raised in question at the quiet figure in his doorway. Merlin's conviction failed.

"Merlin? Anything wrong?" Arthur asked after a couple of seconds of Merlin opening and closing his mouth like a stuck fish.

_Can't back out now_, Merlin's merciless conscience whispered.

"Um, Arthur, I was wondering if you'd be able to call a meeting of the Round Table?" Merlin forced past dry lips.

"Of course, you idiot, but why?" Arthur flashed a grin at his clumsy manservant, still absentmindedly going over the reports.

"I have something to discuss with you. It's, uh-it's important." Merlin said softly, his stomach a pool of dread.

Arthur finally caught on to his serious tone, and gave Merlin a long, searching glance. "All right. When would you like this meeting to be?" He asked, devoting his full attention to his old friend.

"As soon as possible." Merlin was fiddling with the cuffs of his shirt, a sure sign of distress. "Also, could there be no guards present? I wish this to remain private."

Arthur's curiosity was peaked, both by the unusual request and by Merlin's formal, quiet language. He nodded his consent, and added "I'll send a messenger to the others to meet at half-one, is that acceptable?" Merlin nodded distractedly, too nervous to notice the change in Arthur's voice as he matched Merlin's formality.

"Thank you, sire." Arthur looked sharply at Merlin, gone from curious to concerned. "Is anything wrong, Merlin?" he enquired.

Merlin just met his gaze sadly, and left.

Again, Merlin was fidgeting, only this time it was in front of the curious stares of whole of the Round Table. They'd been sitting there for five minutes, watching Merlin repeatedly draw in a breath to say something and then chicken out. Eventually, Gwaine drawled, "Well, Merlin? You've got us all here with our curiosity devouring our insides, so spit it out before I leave, because I've discovered a newly opened tavern with a very pretty barmaid I want to acquaint myself with."

Lancelot frowned at his lack of tact and reproved him. "He can tell us in his own time, Gwaine, don't hurry him."

Merlin exhaled, letting his breath out in a long sigh, and finally spoke.

"No, it's alright. I've... I've brought you all here to tell you something, a secret that I've had for... for all my life, actually," he said, glancing worriedly at Arthur.

Lancelot hissed a breath through his teeth as he realized what Merlin was about to announce. The warlock shot the knight a warning glance, and opened his mouth to speak again.

"This, ah, this secret, it's... very important. And I don't think all of you will... will like it." Another glance at the king.

"Well, as long as you're not an all-powerful sorcerer out to kill us, I think most of us will be good with it," Arthur joked, in an attempt to lighten the sombre mood. Merlin flinched and shot a terrified glance at Arthur, and the king's smile faltered.

"Merlin?" Arthur softly questioned.

"It...it'd be better if I showed you, rather than told you." Merlin said in a very, very small voice, shrinking in his chair.

Arthur, dread settling in his stomach, nodded his acquiescence.

Merlin straightened, and without meeting any of their eyes gently cupped his hands and hunched over them, gazing down into them with fierce intensity, blocking the others' view.

His eyed flashed gold, and he brought his hands up to his face, gently cradling whatever it was in his hands. Then, raising them before his lips, he gently blew on his hands as he opened them, releasing a small stream of tiny golden sparks as one would release a captured bird.

The sparks seemed to multiply and merge with the sunbeams. There was a pause as the sparks settled and hung in the golden light.

Then...

The sunbeams streaming through the windows twitched, and began to dance. The captured light twisted and flowed around the table, streaming and winding in unintelligible patterns; there one minute and gone the next. In amongst the swirls of light and sparks, wispy figures could be spied; a galloping horse was glimpsed before it faded and stretched into an eagle that soared over Gwaine's head, dissipating as he reached a hand out to catch it. A darting hare, a lean wolfhound, a delicate cat, a majestic bear, a twisting eel, they all danced and played and wound themselves in and around the figures spellbound at the table. The sunlight danced, the dust motes and sparks floating and wafting with them, illuminating the entire room. The light swirled and danced before their eyes, creatures of all kinds there and gone in instants, the patterns and shapes forming a beautiful, haunting dance of light and magic. Merlin sat there, eyes glowing gold and an expression of pure joy as he sculpted the light into an artwork of beauty.

He whispered another word, and the light slowed, flowing back and dissipating into its proper place, the sparks that brought the light to life drawn back into the warlock and extinguished, magic gone from the air.

They sat, stunned, and Merlin saw tears in the eyes of several. He glanced back down at the table, shrinking again into himself as the euphoria of the magic faded. He waited for one of them to say something.

"Merlin... that was beautiful." breathed Gwen, breaking the silence. He looked to her, and saw her eyes full of tears and joy, as well as acceptance. He said a silent thank you to his friend.

Merlin cautiously shifted his gaze to the others on either side of her: Gwaine raised his eyebrow and smirked, Elyan shrugged and gave him a half-hearted smile after glancing at Gwen, Lancelot simply nodded, Percival stared impassively, Gaius sighed and shook his head, and Leon looked worriedly to the figure next to Merlin, chewing his lip, uncertain. Merlin understood; Leon's loyalty lay with Arthur.

The only person left. Arthur. His friend. Or maybe not, any more. Merlin's heart quailed as he thought of all the reactions the king could have. Slowly, so slowly, he raised his eyes to Arthur's face, dreading what he would see.

Arthur was staring straight forward into space, sitting ramrod straight, hands clenched into fists, resting on the table. Merlin could see his profile, and he saw his jaw working, his whole face etched into a rigid mask of control. He was holding himself back.

"Come. With. Me." the king forced through clenched teeth. He abruptly stood, still staring into space as he tried to settle his anger.

"Arthur, wai-" Lancelot began, but stopped at Merlin's quiet "no".

Lancelot looked at his friend in distress, and opened his mouth to speak, but closed it when Merlin shook his head.

Merlin pushed himself away from the table and his friends, and as soon as he straightened, Arthur immediately turned and strode to the door, not looking back.

Merlin offered a weak grimace that was intended as a smile to the others still sitting before slowly following his king to the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Shit, sorry guys! I thought I'd uploaded the whole edited chapter, but apparently I didn't. Sorry, everyone! Oh, and just so you know, I won't be continuing this fic, not unless many people beg me to. Also, thank you so much for your literally overhwelming response! I opened my email the day after I posted the first chapter and found 3 pages fo emails relating to it. I'm really very flattered. Oh, and if I haven't replied to your review, then it's either because I opened it at 1 in the morning and was too tired, or becuase FanFic won't link me to your reviews...Anyway, here it is.

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><p>Arthur was looking out the window, arm braced against the frame in a position that was very familiar to Merlin- it was the position he took whenever he was worrying about something. Merlin hated seeing it, knowing that the cause was him.<p>

He lingered just inside the room, anxiously waiting for Arthur to speak.

"You're a sorcerer." He finally delivered, with a finality that chilled Merlin's heart. He opened his mouth to speak, but Arthur cut in front of him.

"You're a sorcerer. Sorcerers are evil. _You_ are evil." He spat out, forcibly keeping himself from shouting; hatred, fury, and a flicker of betrayal contorting his face.

Merlin opened his mouth. "Arthur..."

"Do _not_ speak to me!" the king roared suddenly, taking a step towards Merlin, hand raised to hit him. The warlock flinched and fell back, cringing.

The king lowered his hand, but continued shouting.

"How _dare_ you! How dare you speak to me, you lying, traitorous bastard! You have _no_ right to speak to me, not after this! You've planned this, haven't you? You came to Camelot with every intention of destroying it, of weaseling your way into the court and then tearing it apart! With your... magic! That's what your kind does, isn't it? You plot, and you kill, and you betray. You filthy, lying, _bastard_!" Arthur had been getting closer and closer to Merlin as he spoke, until he was spitting in the warlock's shocked face. He spun around then, clenching and unclenching his fists, pacing back and forth, determinedly not looking at Merlin. He, meanwhile, just stood there, shocked at this outburst, speechless. He found his voice.

"Arthur, let me explain..."

"NO!" he thundered, swinging back to face the warlock. "Don't you dare try and justify your actions! You can't! You learnt magic, knowing full well it was banned, and you hid it from me! You _betrayed_ me! You used me! You lied to me!"

At this point Merlin lost it.

"ARTHUR, SHUT UP." The prince gaped at him, the wind taken from his sails as he listened to the warlock talk.

"Yes, I lied to you! Of course I bloody lied to you! I'd be dead if I didn't lie! My whole life I've had to lie! My whole _life_, your royal bleedin' highness, my whole _life_! I was born with magic, I never learnt it, I've never had a damn choice! I have **no** choice! Magic is part of me, _sire_, and it always has been, and it always will be! I'm not a goddam sorcerer, I'm a warlock! A warlock, you stupid man! I'm the only one in the entire world! I have been alone my entire life. There is _no one_ else like me, do you understand? Do you know what it's like to have hidden this gift for as long as I've lived? My whole life has been spent lying and hiding, and I am sick and tired of it!"

Merlin stood, panting, eyes furious and blazing, desperately shedding the weight off his chest.

"Listen to me. I am the most powerful magic-user to have ever lived. I don't need spells and words to control my gift. I can perform magic with only a thought. If I am evil, if I wanted to be rich and powerful, don't you think I would be already? I certainly have the magic to make it happen. If I wanted to kill you and destroy Camelot, wouldn't I have done so already? The amount of times I had the opportunity! Or I could have let others do it for for me! The first time we met, our fight. You said you could take me apart with one blow. I said I could take you apart with less than that. This is what I meant! I could have killed you then. Or I could have let that witch's knife stab you. I could have let so many people kill you, or I could have killed you myself! But you know what I've done? I've saved you. So many _goddam_ times. I am your bloody guardian angel, Arthur, and if it weren't for me saving your arse every time you step outside, you'd be _dead_!So don't you dare say I've betrayed you, Arthur Pendragon, because I have been by your side saving your ungrateful life for years!"

Arthur was shocked, the warlock could tell. But the king gathered himself and fell back on what he'd been taught since he was a child.

"If you've saved my life it's only been for your own purposes! Magic is evil! There are no exceptions!"

Merlin felt a flare of fury at Arthur's repetition of the ignorant words of his father.

"Magic is _not_ evil!" he hissed, thrusting his face within inches of the king's.

"Then how do you explain all the evil sorcerers?" snapped Arthur.

"How do _you_ explain all the evil non-magical people, then?" he bit back. "It's not the magic that's evil, it's the people!"

"All those with magic are evil!"

"No they're not!" Merlin threw his hands up in frustration at the king's prejudice. "The Druids aren't evil! Neither was Anhora!"

"He cast a spell over all of Camelot!"

"Because you'd gone and killed one of his unicorns! He took it off, didn't he?" demanded Merlin. "Besides, most of the time people only attacked Camelot because _your father _wrongly executed their friends and family! Your father murdered them, when they'd done nothing! He was cruel, and wrong. Are you really so blind that you can't see this?"

Arthur stared at Merlin, jaw tensed and body stiff.

"My father did what he thought was best for Camelot." Arthur stubbornly insisted.

"No, he didn't. He acted out of revenge, out of anger. He killed thousands of innocent people. You _know_ he was wrong, Arthur, I can see it. Do you really want to be like him? Feared by your people?"

The warlock could see the battle going on behind his eyes-preserve his father's laws and the injustices that came with them, or acknowledge that Merlin was right. They stared at each other, the space between them crackling with tension and fury.

Arthur looked away, jaw tensed as he furiously, shamefacedly conceded. He slowly lowered himself into a hardbacked chair, whitened fingers gripping the back. He sat stiffly, still not looking at the warlock as he forced out, "So what do I do?"

Merlin felt the relief spread inside him, and he sighed, closing his eyes and letting himself relax. He answered Arthur.

"For now? Nothing. Let me stay as your manservant. But you must promise me that eventually you'll lift the ban on magic."

"And how will I do that?" the king answered dully.

"Do it slowly. Pardon a child accused of sorcery. Send an ambassador to the Druids. Give those convicted of sorcery a fair trial and relax the sentences. Welcome those with magic back into Camelot."

The king, with downcast eyes, defeatedly dipped his head in agreement, and Merlin heaved a shuddering breath.

"Thank you." he whispered.

"Get out." replied the king.

"...What?"

"Get out. Just... get out. I can't..." Arthur was fighting to get the words out, voice tired and dispirited. He waved a hand at Merlin, gesturing for him to leave. "Please... Just leave."

At the plea, Merlin nodded silently, despairing at the bond broken between them. He turned and walked silently to the door. He paused, one hand resting on the handle, muttered lowly, "I'm sorry," and left.

As Arthur heard the door click softly shut, he buried his head in his hand and groaned in disgust, defeat, and despair. Outside, with his head resting gently on the wood of the door, Merlin did the same.

He'd gained sorcerers their freedom, but his friendship was broken, and it might not recover.


	3. Chapter 3

Yes, I know, despite everything I said, I _have_ continued this. Be very proud, this took me forever. Oh, and a warning, don't raise your hopes too much, I won't be updating often. I have no idea where this is going, so it'll take forever to do anything. I'm really very sorry.

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><p>Merlin was hurrying along, intently concentrating on sorting the herbs in his basket with one hand and clutching an important vial in the other. As a result, he wasn't looking where he was going, and so when he bumped into Arthur he dropped everything with an explosive swear.<p>

Not realizing who he'd run into, he dropped to his knees and started to frantically gather the herbs, swearing again when he realised the vial had shattered. Scraping the glass into a mound with a cautious palm, he glanced up to apologise to whomever he'd hit. He froze when he saw the closed and distrustful countenance of Arthur.

"Oh," was all he could come out with.

Arthur, too, was frozen, glaring down at his frien- no, the sorcerer who _used_ to be his friend. The one he'd been religiously avoiding since he'd revealed his magic to the Round Table.

At the eye contact, Arthur stepped sharply back, avoiding Merlin's gaze by staring at the floor.

Merlin scrambled inelegantly upright, still clutching various crushed and ruined herbs. He stood nervously, not knowing what to say, looking shamefacedly off to the side.

They stood in nervous and awkward silence until Arthur caught sight of the spilt liquid and glass still on the floor.

"Why don't you fix it?"

Merlin's head jerked up in surprise, and he shot out a garbled "What?", running over Arthur's question.

He repeated it. "Why don't you fix it? You have magic. Use it."

Merlin looked warily at the king, unsure why he was…encouraging him to use his magic.

Arthur tilted his head at the glass and raised his eyebrows-do it.

Merlin sighed-well, if you insist- and looked down at the shattered glass. He eyed it for a moment, and with a sudden flash of gold and twitch of his hand, the glass flew into his outstretched palm, reforming in the air, the spilt and dirtied liquid collecting and pouring into the half-reformed vial as it flew to him.

He caught it, but flinched and yelped as a stray shard of glass pierced his palm. He glanced up sheepishly at Arthur, who snorted and muttered, "Idiot can't even do _this _right."

Merlin grinned at that, his face lighting up at the king's unguarded words.

Arthur's face had relaxed with his words, and for a moment he and Merlin shared the resurrection of their camaraderie, a slip back into their old ways.

However, the king seemed to realise what he was doing-his face shut down again, closing off, remembering that the man in front of him was a confessed sorcerer- and one that he didn't know what to do with.

To cover up his momentary confusion, he looked again at the cut on Merlin's palm. Unsure whether he could put up with much more open use of magic, instead of asking if Merlin could heal it he curtly growled, "Gaius should see to that. Come on."

Raising his eyebrows and contorting his face into an expression of mocking and amused astonishment, Merlin followed. He figured at least Arthur was talking to him, even if he was very…erratic in his approach to the warlock. So he followed Arthur quietly, hanging the basket of crushed herbs over the arm that held the newly repaired vial, and carrying his bleeding hand protectively.

It was an unusual sight Gaius had when they entered: the stern-faced and very _proper_ young king marching in front of the newly-revealed warlock who carrying a battered basket of herbs, a badly slashed hand, and a curious expression of amused surprise.

Arthur came to a halt in front of Gaius. "He cut his hand while repairing a vial he dropped-can't do anything right." The tone was curt and contemptuous, but the words, if spoken differently, were such that they could have been part of their normal banter.

With a nod to Gaius and a wary and cautious glance at Merlin, the king turned on his heel and walked out.

"What on earth was that?" came the astonished exclamation of Gaius.

"I have no idea." replied the warlock slowly, looking after his king.


	4. Chapter 4

Oh god this is such a piece of horseshit, this chapter. I'm really so very sorry. I just felt there needed to be a kind of explanatory chapter, and for some reason my style of writing went haywire, and this catvomit resulted at 1 in the morning. It's really bad, I'm sorry.

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><p>The situation in Camelot had of late been an unusual one.<p>

The entirety of the Round Table now knew of Merlin's magic, and their reactions differed.

Gaius noted the responses of the Round Table. Of course Lancelot knew, and he now hovered protectively over Merlin, watching soldiers and guards nervously whenever they approached.

Percival seemed to be fine with it. He knew Merlin was a good man, so if he had magic then all that changed was that he was now a good man with magic. Percival treated Merlin no different, on occasion asking questions about the magic but largely treating Merlin the same. For that Gaius was thankful. To be treated the same was a blessing for Merlin right now.

Gwaine treated it all like a joke. He often came barging into Gaius' chambers looking to rope Merlin into performing a prank with his magic. He claimed to have suspected it for long enough, and teased Merlin mercilessly.

Elyan was a bit more wary. He didn't avoid Merlin, but he wasn't the first to go looking for him, either. Whenever they met, which wasn't often as Arthur took care to prevent all contact between Merlin and his knights, Elyan regarded the warlock with a cautious respect, barely saying anything.

Leon was much like Elyan, watching Merlin with troubled eyes. He liked Merlin, and couldn't believe he was a sorcerer, but he'd seen the evidence. They all had. For now he kept quiet on the subject of Merlin's magic, deciding to follow Arthur's lead in whatever decision he made.

Gwen was completely astonished. The day after Merlin revealed himself, she came to his room asking for his entire story. They sat down, and Merlin told it. Gwen was hurt, but she soon forgave him, and he thanked the first friend he'd made in Camelot profusely. He then asked her to tell the other knights some of his story, seeing as he rarely saw them now. She agreed, and offered to speak to Arthur as well. Merlin asked her not to. "I'll talk to him."

Arthur was being…difficult. After their initial fight, Merlin hadn't dared go back to perform his duties as a manservant, feeling somehow he'd be unwelcome. He soon afterwards was officially fired. He was hurt, but didn't blame Arthur. It would take time for this rift to heal. He had taken to performing Gaius' chores full-time, as a way to keep busy. Arthur had also been keeping the knights that were his friends very busy-sending them on patrols that took days to complete, and ferociously throwing them into training. Merlin took this to mean he didn't want any of the knights having contact with him.

They'd not met until they literally bumped into each other in the corridor, and the curious meeting that took place there established a very wary peace between them. Arthur stopped keeping the knights away, and ceased avoiding Merlin, but when they saw each other they acted only as servant and king, and little was said on either side, although there were many anxious looks on Merlin's part.

This wary truce remained for several weeks, and the entire castle held its breath as it waited to the inevitable collapse of the house of cards.


	5. Chapter 5

I received a message from a certain Jane Mays, suggesting the brilliant idea of Gwaine's little speech to Arthur in this chapter. So all credit goes to them for the wonderful idea!

Oh, and here's a disclaimer: Of course I own Merlin. That's why I'm writing fanfic about the show.

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><p>Arthur was striding briskly down one of the endless corridors of the castle, face set in the scowl that seemed permanent nowadays. Ever since Merlin…<p>

He shook off the unwanted thought. They were on an uneasy truce, but the castle was still waiting to see what the king would do with the sorcerer. Somehow, word had got out about the little display of magic over the Round Table, and now the entire castle staff knew about Merlin's magic, in some form or other.

He thought about that occurrence. They pretty much all knew, and yet they hadn't been ostracising the young man. Indeed, if anything, they'd been banding around him, helping him in little ways he didn't notice, and rejecting anyone who protested against the sorcerer. Curious that in the heart of Camelot the people would be so accepting of magic. He must ask one of the staff about that.

Drawn out of his thoughts by his arrival at his destination, he looked up at the thick wooden door of the armoury. He expected all his knights would be in here, cleaning their weapons after their latest training session.

He opened the door, and he saw his closest knights sitting in a circle, concentrating intently on Gwen, who was perched on a bench and seemed to be telling a story.

The king paused, unnoticed, and listened in.

"…So Merlin was the one who placed that magical poultice under my father's pillow to heal him when there was that plague, because he couldn't bear to watch me suffer. When I was accused of sorcery, he tried to give himself up, but no one believed him because Arthur told them he wasn't a sorcerer-"

She cut off her sentence as she noticed Arthur standing quietly in the doorway. Flushing furiously, she stood up and started stammering apologies, the knights also standing and looking shamefacedly at their king.

He waved them to silence, then sighed, turning and shutting the heavy door behind him.

"No, don't worry. That's what I came here to talk about anyway."

Arthur saw the start of surprise given by his knights. Lately, he'd hardly been speaking to them, only giving orders, being a king. And any attempt to mention Merlin resulted in a closed and furious expression, and a stoically silent king. This was the first time he'd approached them not as the king, but as a friend.

He sat down on one of the low benches the knights had pulled around into a circle, sighing heavily. Seeing everyone else standing around nervously, he waved at them to sit.

The knights sat, frowning anxiously. Gwen perched next to Arthur and placed a comforting hand on his arm. He smiled weakly at her, and took her hand in his.

He sighed again, eyes on the ground, before turning his head up and facing his knights.

"I want to know... how you all feel about…the situation," He said slowly, but firmly, "I won't…get angry or anything, I just want to know your opinions."

There was a moment of silence, and then Lancelot spoke up.

"He's still the same person." He stated matter-of-factly, staring blandly at Arthur.

Another instant of hush.

"But…he's got magic! He's been hiding it for years!" Arthur fired up, outraged.

Lancelot spared a thought for the king's assurance that he wouldn't get angry, and gave a wry smile. "His magic is part of who he is."

"Oh, so I take it you knew, then?" Arthur snapped bitterly.

"Yes, I did. He didn't tell me, I found out and promised to keep it a secret. He saved my life, Arthur, and he's been saving yours for years." Lancelot insisted, leaning forward.

Arthur sputtered, not knowing what to say. All he managed to come out with was, "But…magic!"

Lancelot grinned, and said, "Yes."

At this point, Gwaine interjected.

"I'm with Lance on this one, Princess. I mean, it was pretty obvious though, once you think about it. It explains how he's managed to survive all these years, following you around."

Arthur opened his mouth to reply, to argue, but paused. It _was _astonishing how Merlin always came out unscathed from all the dangers they'd been in, when so many of his knights had died.

Taking advantage of his silence, Gwaine pressed his point. "You know Merlin, Arthur. He's incredibly loyal to you, and to Camelot. I can't understand why," he said with a grin, "but he is, and the fact he has magic doesn't change that!"

"It appears I don't know Merlin at all," muttered the king irately, and Gwaine huffed in annoyance.

"I think, sire, that Merlin's still the same person. There's just more to him." Percival spoke slowly, cautiously, thinking about his words. "I also think that you're treating him unfairly-"

Arthur shot up, outraged, and opened his mouth to yell.

He was interrupted by Gwen hurriedly tugging on his arm and begging, "Please, Arthur, just listen to him. To us."

He looked at her, and she saw all the uncertainty that this revelation of Merlin's was bringing him. He didn't know what to do.

He sat down again, and curtly gestured for Percival to continue.

"Thank you, my lord," he said mildly, unperturbed by Arthur's outburst. "Merlin has willingly told us what is presumably his deepest and most treasured secret. He did this knowing the consequences, knowing the laws against him. He's trusted us- you- with his _life_, my lord. And while you haven't executed him, which is good, you're treating him like he's suddenly- overnight- become evil, without anything changing except him trusting us."

Percival ignored his king's slightly undignified expression of stunned surprise, and continued. "Now, from what I understand, Merlin's only ever used magic in self-defense, or to protect you, the kingdom, or an innocent. Doesn't seem evil to me." He finished, and sat back, satisfied that he'd made his point.

The king gawked for a moment more, then started at Gwen's elbow in his ribs, telling his to close his mouth, he's looking a little undignified.

He shut it with a snap, and sat back, staring over the knights' heads with a troubled expression on his face. His gaze snapped back to Percival, and he asked sharply, "How do you know? How do you know he's only used his…magic…for good?"

"Because I know Merlin. He's not evil. And because I asked him, and Gaius, for conformation." he answered, smiling his slow, lazy smile.

Again, Arthur's gaze drifted off, a crease in his brow as he thought.

"And frankly, Princess, I don't trust you, now." Gwaine's voice had toughened, and his face was still and hard.

This announcement shocked Arthur the most out of everything that had been said. He stared at Gwaine, wide-eyed astonishment clouding his eyes for a moment, until he looked down, lips compressing into a tight line.

"Why?" he forced out.

"Because, as Percival said, you've betrayed him, just because he told the truth. If you'd do that to Merlin, the best of us, the most loyal to you, if you'd betray your friends so easily, then I can't trust you. Not as a friend, not as a leader. If you don't sort out your issues with Merlin and magic, then I'm no longer your knight."

Gwaine looked at Arthur, face set, daring him to argue.

Arthur stared back, jaw working, then abruptly stood and walked out.

Gwen smiled weakly at the knights, and followed her king.

She found him leaning against a wall a few corridors away, staring pensively across the hall. She went up to him, and placed a sympathetic hand on his folded arms.

They stood in that position for a few moments, then Arthur, without preamble, asked, "Do you agree?"

Knowing instantly what he meant, she, too, answered abruptly. "Yes."

Arthur let a huge rush of air out in a huff, his frown increasing.

"I don't know what to do." he whispered.

The house of cards had shaken, but not fallen.


	6. Chapter 6

**So, next chapter. Sorry this took so long, after my speedy rush of updates! I was a bit stuck, but I think I've got the rest of the story figured out, now.**

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><p>The tension between the king and his- former- manservant had eased somewhat, and they encountered each other more and more often. Mostly, barely a word was spoken on either side, but on occasion Arthur would say something and they'd grin at each other for an instant, before the king remembered he wasn't actually supposed to be talking to Merlin.<p>

So it happened that Merlin was in the Great Hall watching from the back as Arthur performed his various untouchable kingly duties, when a visitor was announced.

The king stood to receive him, walking forward to greet the cloaked man.

As a result, when the visitor threw back his cloak to reveal a staff that was undoubtedly magical- judging from the flashy red crystal set in the top- and started chanting a spell, Arthur was far too close for comfort.

The court was thrown in a frenzy as the nobles fought to escape, and the knights fought to get to the king, who was ducking and weaving, desperately trying to avoid the spells being thrown at him. Of course he didn't have his sword on him.

Merlin fought to get to the king too, but the panicking civilians had produced a terrifying crush. He couldn't reach Arthur, and watched with horrified eyes as a dart of purple light grazed the king's side.

Acting spontaneously, he roared out a spell. A rush of golden light flew towards the sorcerer, knocking him off his feet and into a sprawling mess. In the resulting shocked calm, he wriggled his way through the astonished nobles and sprinted to the king, who had fallen to his knees clutching his side. Panicking, he dropped to the ground next to the king, desperately trying to see his injury.

"Arthur, Arthur, let me see, you've got to let me see, I can fix it-," he babbled, ignoring the stunned gazes of the rest of the court.

Suddenly, a deep voice bellowed, "How _dare _you mess with me, boy! You're no match for my awesome powers!"

Glancing up in bewilderment at this ridiculous speech, Merlin saw the sorcerer rise from where he'd fallen, cloak billowing dramatically. The warlock raised his eyebrows, and stood to face him, expression tightening as he remembered Arthur falling, injured by the streak of magic.

He face grew cold, and he stalked towards the man who'd hurt his king, brow lowering and his movements stiff with suppressed rage.

The sorcerer simply laughed at Merlin, mocking him, standing fast with a smirk on his face as Merlin abruptly stopped inches from him. They stood nose-to-nose, one sneering and contemptuous, the other icy and furious.

"Do you know who I am?" Merlin hissed, baring his teeth.

The sneer intensified.

"Do I care?"

"Oh, I think you do." Merlin's voice was soft and dangerous.

He leant forward, and whispered into the sorcerer's ear.

"I am Emrys, and you will leave."

And with that, he left the sorcerer gaping and stalked back towards his king. Before he was halfway there, Merlin heard the man shout a spell, and he stiffened, recognizing the words.

The onlookers gasped, but Merlin simply stood with his back to the sorcerer as the spell dissipated in the air behind him.

The sorcerer frowned, and cast another spell, that again failed to hit Merlin.

His face set in a snarl, the sorcerer fired spell after spell at the warlock, enraged by the calmness with which he resisted.

Merlin waited, letting the sorcerer try and hurt him, his face set in a mask of cold fury at the impertinence of the man, to try and kill _his_ king. The nobles looked at the warlock, the man they'd passed in the hall a thousand times and never paid a thought to, and they were speechless at this blatant display of power.

Eventually, the sorcerer gave up, and stood panting, glaring at the warlock.

Merlin waited a moment, then turned with great deliberation towards the man, eyeing him grimly.

The sorcerer's face dropped, Merlin's eyes flashed gold, and he went flying backwards, colliding with the wall and dropping, neck broken.

The warlock stared ruthlessly at the body for a moment, then turned to his king, face softening into an expression of concern. He dropped to his knees, and gently took Arthur's hand away from his side. He hissed as he saw the damage.

There was a deep cut across his side, and the surrounding skin was burnt and weeping. That wasn't the worst.

The wound was coated in a strange purple liquid that appeared to be eating away at Arthur's skin. Merlin blanched, then started as he felt Arthur grip his hand tightly. He looked at the king's face, and their eyes met.

The king was struggling to breath; his face was drained and clammy. His hand was vice-like over Merlin's thin wrist and he stared at the warlock, unable to speak.

Arthur gasped, and his face contorted, head tipping back as he let out a pained groan, teeth clenched.

Spurred into action, Merlin twisted and called for Gaius, his voice cracking. His hands fluttered over Arthur's side, desperately trying to stem the flow of blood.

Gaius had been standing, stunned, amidst the crowd, but on Merlin's cry, he hurried over to the king and the warlock. He dropped to his knees beside them, and assessed the wound. Face falling, he muttered in Merlin's ear, "This wound has been created by magic, Merlin. No herbs or poultices of mine can heal this. There's nothing I can do."

Merlin faced the physician. "No. No, you don't mean that. Fix him, Gaius!" His voice cracked again, and he was on the verge of panic.

Gauis simply looked at him, eyes pained.

Merlin stared back, unbelieving. Suddenly, he jumped.

"Wait-you said, 'made by magic', Gaius, does that mean…?"

The old man gripped his shoulder. "No, Merlin. I don't think so. There's no spell… and you're not advanced enough. "

Merlin's face hardened with certainty. "Since when did I use spells?"

He turned away from Gaius' apprehensive features as a dry rasp came from Arthur.

"Merlin? What…?" The pain in the king's voice made the warlock cringe, and he looked at Arthur, eyes suddenly anxious. He held the king's gaze for a moment, then had to look away.

"Gaius, could you stand back? I need space."

Gaius opened his mouth, but at a sharp look from the warlock, he nodded, and stepped back, gesturing for the rest of the hall to move back as well.

Merlin gently shifted Arthur so he could see the entirety of the wound. The king resisted, face open and panicking, unsure, grasping weakly at the warlock's arm.

"Merlin…what…don't…" he wheezed.

"Arthur. I need you to trust me. For once, just trust me. Please," Merlin insisted, begging the king. They locked gazes and for one long intense moment, Merlin thought Arthur would refuse.

The king nodded, sharply, once.

The warlock breathed sigh of relief, and turned his attention again to the injury. It had grown worse, the bizarre purple acid still eating away at his side. Merlin went white at the sight, but tightened his jaw, and thought.

He sat, the king clutching his wrist tighter and tighter as the pain grew worse. The warlock was wracking his brains, trying to think of _something_, anything, a spell that could help his king. The tension in the room grew as Merlin continued to do nothing.

"What…whatever you're going to do, Merlin, get on with it!" the dry, rasping croak from Arthur made up Merlin's mind.

He shifted, and held his hands over the wound, tension and concentration stiffening his muscles. He froze for an instant, then in a deep and unfathomable voice, cried out a single unintelligible word that reverberated around the entire room.

Arthur shrieked, back arching and muscles tensing as the slash in his side slowly, and apparently painfully, knitted together. The burn from the acid began to hiss and bubble, and the raw skin grew gradually over. Suddenly, he collapsed back onto the floor, unconscious.

Merlin had taken in a strangled gasp as he performed the spell, his entire body seizing and shuddering. As Arthur collapsed, so did the warlock, and he was now limply bent over, panting and trembling. He gently sank down until his head was resting on the cool flagstones of the hall.

The king and the warlock stayed in that position for an impossibly long minute, until Arthur came to with a groan. At his noise, Merlin jolted up, watching wide-eyed as the king levered himself upright to glare at the warlock.

"You incompetent fool! You couldn't have done that without the searing pain, could you?"

Merlin gawked at him, astonished, and squawked back, "Well, soo-rry for saving your life! Maybe next time I'll just let you die in unbelievable agony, then!"

They glowered at each other furiously, until Arthur suddenly punched Merlin's shoulder.

"Bloody sorcerer."

Merlin narrowed his eyes at the king, evaluating how serious he was, then replied, "Not a sorcerer."

Arthur raised his eyebrows incredulously. "You can hardly deny it now!"

Merlin mirrored his expression, and finished his sentence. "Not a sorcerer, a warlock."

The king rolled his eyes and huffed. "Whatever."

They would have continued arguing, were it not for Gaius interjecting somewhat cautiously.

"Your Highness? Are you all right?"

Arthur stared in mild surprise at the physician, until he realized he was lying in dust and blood in the middle of a circle of very bewildered nobles and knights.

He shot upright, losing his balance in the head rush and swaying until Merlin also stood, catching his arm.

"Yes, well, I'm fine, obviously." Arthur attempted to brush off his previous indignity by assuming his most kingly stance. Merlin held onto his arm; the king really was very unsteady on his feet.

The nobles and knights were still standing somewhat shocked, staring at Merlin. Merlin abruptly noticed, and withdrew into himself defensively. Arthur looked around the circle of onlookers in bewilderment as to why they were still standing around staring, but his attention was drawn to the warlock as he unexpectedly swayed, staggered, and crashed to the ground, unconscious.

The trance that had overcome the onlookers broke with Merlin's collapse, and several of the nondescript knights who'd been present when the sorcerer attacked rushed forward and pulled their king away from this sudden, unexpected threat that was an unconscious Merlin.

Arthur squawked in a rather un-kingly way, but let himself be pulled away to a "safe" distance, where he shook off the offending hands and brushed himself down, watching, mildly astonished, as Gaius rushed forward to attend to his ward.

He completely disregarded the yells of various council members to have Merlin arrested, and paid no attention to the knights who were fussing around him, checking for injuries and trying to hustle him further away from the unconscious man. When remembering the occasion, all he could recall was a vague impression of everyone running around yelling and waving their arms in the air quite unnecessarily.

He was brought back into his head by the doors of the hall suddenly and rather dramatically crashing open and Gwaine heroically charging in, sword in the air. He staggered to a halt and stared back at all the faces turned towards him in bemusement.

"I thought…sorcerer…danger?" he trailed off, but upon catching sight of Merlin lying unconscious on the floor, he hollered, "Merlin!", dropped his sword, and sprinted to his friend's side.

"What the goddamm hell did you do to him, Arthur?" he demanded, glaring with what looked like legitimate hatred at the king.

Arthur stared in shock at his knight, crouching with the physician at the side of his frien-wait. Was he about to say friend? A sorcerer, his friend?

So caught up in the sudden realization that he still unconsciously thought of Merlin as his friend, the king completely ignored Gwaine, gazing in bemused shock right past the knight.

Infuriated by his lack of response, Gwaine stood and stalked towards the king, brushing aside the still very confused knights who attempted to stop him.

"_What. Did. You. Do?"_ he hissed.

The king stared, taken aback.

"_Me?_ I didn't do anything! The…idiot just went and collapsed! It's his fault!" he exclaimed, gesturing at the prone warlock.

"If I might interject, my lord?" Gaius again pinched the blossoming argument in the bud. "Merlin's collapsed through his excessive use of magic. Deafeating that sorcerer and then healing you, it was quite a feat."

The knight and the king had turned to look at the physician, the rest of the hall now still and quiet. The nobles and knights looked at Arthur for orders.

His training for kingship never having prepared him for these kinds of situations, Arthur gestured helplessly at the expectant faces.

"Yes, well…go put him to bed Gaius. Tell him to see me when he wakes. You go help, Gwaine!" he called after the knight who'd already walked over to the warlock and picked him up. Gwaine just threw him a disgusted look.

The faces had swiveled to watch the carrying out of Arthur's order, and now swiveled back. The king stared, flummoxed, until a knight tentatively suggested, "Shall we dispose of the body, my lord?"

Seizing this as an opportunity for appearing in control, Arthur nodded decisively. "Yes, yes, you do that! Uh…the rest of you, begin clearing up this mess. And everyone else can go."

With this, he made his slightly panicked exit.


	7. Chapter 7

**I know, I know. I promised soon. I didn't deliver. I'm a terrible person and a horrid author. If I were reading this, I'd hate me too. But my computer crashed and lost half my word documents, so I had to rewrite it, and then school came back and my mother barely let me on the computer, and my horse has been injured, and schoolwork is goddamn hard, and I'll stop whinging. But here it is, the final chapter.**

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><p>Merlin awoke in his bed; blankets pulled up to his chin and tucked in uncomfortably tight. He blinked blearily, and attempted to wrestle his way to freedom.<p>

The slight movement brought to his attention the fact that he _hurt_. Everywhere. Really quite badly.

He groaned, and let his head thump back down onto the thin pillow. This then kicked off a raging headache, and he groaned again, loud enough to be heard from the main room.

Gaius bustled up the stairs and opened the door with enough noise to drive a searing knife into Merlin's head, and he whimpered and tried to muffle the sound in his pillow. With no arms, this was rather difficult.

"_Mer_lin, what are you doing?" came the physician's exasperated voice upon seeing his ward, eyes closed and face scrunched, shrinking into his pillow.

His tone softened as he saw Merlin flinch at his maybe-slightly-too-loud voice. He sighed, and shuffled over to the side of the bed, resting his hand on the warlock's forehead and testing his temperature.

"Hmph, well, Arthur's going to have to wait till you're better to see you."

Merlin cracked an eye open. "Arthur wants to see me?" he rasped.

"Don't talk, you'll only feel worse!" he scolded. "Yes, he does. But, as I said, he'll have to wait. You're going to take a while to recover after that frankly impressive use of magic."

Gaius saw the flicker of worry flash over the prone man's face, and he sought to change the topic. "I must say, however impressive the magic was, it was an extremely stupid idea! Do have any idea how-"

"Ugh, Gaius, can we leave the telling-off till later? I'm afraid my head won't recover if you insist on lecturing me in top of the hammer in my skull."

Gaius just looked at him reprovingly, but it was tempered with amusement. He turned to leave, but just before he left, he paused and faced the warlock.

"Merlin, Arthur would like to see you when you're well. But, if it's any consolation, he didn't seem angry, when he asked. At least, not as angry as he has been lately…" and on this reassuring note, he left.

Merlin hovered at Arthur's door, silently watching the king working on some paperwork or other at his desk, strangely reminiscent of the day that'd changed his life.

Arthur looked up and saw him, and the warlock saw that the same thought was passing through his king's mind. They shared a wry smile, and it was the most comfortable it'd been between them since Merlin's…announcement.

Merlin sat himself opposite Arthur and waited for the king to speak. He finished his work and pushed it to the side, quietly regarding the warlock.

Eventually, Arthur spoke.

"It seems, Merlin, that you serve some use after all."

A disbelieving snort came from the warlock, and he sat back, ready to deliver some no doubt witty and cutting retort.

The king held up a hand to forestall him, glowering, but like Gaius, with a faint shadow of amusement.

"_So_, I've decided what your punishment will be."

He was too late to stop Merlin's outburst this time.

"Punishment! For what! I saved your goddamn life, Arthur, don't tell me you're considering-"

"_Mer_lin! Shut it, for god's sake!"

Merlin snapped his mouth shut and adopted an air of injured dignity, studiously _not_ looking at Arthur and pouting. Arthur huffed and turned back to an official-looking document.

"_Any_way, back to the subject of your punishment."

Arthur was looking down at this document, so he missed the flicker of genuine fear pass over the warlock's face.

When he looked back up, Merlin's face was carefully schooled and blank.

Unnerved slightly by the completely calm expression on the warlock's face, he stared for a moment until clearing his throat and reading out loud in the most pompous voice he could muster, "Merlin, son of Hunith of Ealdor, former manservant to King Arthur Pendragon, you have been accused of sorcery and found guilty. Your punishment…." Arthur paused, and glanced up at Merlin with a smirk, "Your punishment is to be the protection of Camelot and its people from magical attacks, and to advise King Arthur Pendragon on all matters of magic and its use for as long as you live."

Arthur put down the sheet, a smug smile decorating his face, and leant back, waiting for Merlin's exclamation of extreme joy and profuse thanks.

Merlin just sat.

"So…. I'll be protecting Camelot, and you, from magic. And telling you what to do about it."

The king's face fell at the warlock's reaction.

"Yeah?"

A pause while Merlin considered this.

"So I'll be doing exactly what I've been doing for the last four years."

Arthur's face completely dropped at this.

"But _Mer_lin!"

"Was that a _whine_, my lord?"

"No! I'm a king, kings don't _whine_. Now stop distracting me. Yes, you'll be doing exactly what you've done for the last four years, but you'll be doing it _officially_, and you won't be my manservant any more."

"You mean I won't have to clean your stinking boots? Oh, that makes this deal a whole lot better!"

"Really. I thought the not getting executed and appointed to a position of authority was the best part," replied Arthur flatly.

Merlin just looked at him reproachfully, and the king gave up.

"_An_yway, now that we've got that out of the way. I was wondering. When was the first time you used magic around me?"

"Well, you remember that fight we had?"

_end._

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><p><strong>Yep, so it's done. I must say, I'm not particularly happy with the way this story, some of the chapters are pretty bad, and I ended up just getting bored and finishing them hastily, but still. I'm glad I've written it. And I'm glad I'm done! Thank you, everyone.<strong>_  
><em>


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